|
Nawshirwan Mustafa says time for "Change"
for Iraq's Kurds
3.5.2009
|
|
|
New
candidate emerges among Iraq's Kurds. "We want to
change this political system" Nawshirwan says.
May 3, 2009
SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — Time
for "Change" for Iraq's Kurds? A new, independent
candidate is taking up the slogan to woo Iraqi Kurds
disenchanted over the two-party political divide in
their oil-rich semiautonomous region in northern
Iraq.
Nawshirwan Mustafa, a former deputy leader and
co-founder of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's
party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, says he
plans to head a political group of independents
called "Change" in the region's upcoming
parliamentary elections. He left Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan party (PUK)
in December 2006.
Tired of the Kurdish two-party dominance and unable
to push through reforms within the PUK, Mustafa told
The Associated Press he wants to draw in those
unhappy with the current political struggle. |
Nawshirwan Mustafa, prominent former PUK leader and
co-founder of the PUK party |
"The old politicians and
the dominating traditional parties are not
interested in making change in Kurdistan," Mustafa
said. "They want to keep things as they are."
"We want to change this political system," said
Mustafa, adding he would campaign on promises to
battle corruption and improve the lives of the
region's population.
A date for the parliamentary elections has not been
set, but the vote — the first in the territory since
2005 — is expected to be held by mid-July. There are
about 2.5 million registered voters, according to
the electoral commission.
Mustafa is among a wave of independent Iraqi
politicians trying to break the hold of religious
parties and other traditional power brokers in Iraq
by tapping into frustration felt by Kurds and many
Iraqis over perceived failures of the current
administrations.
The trend was evident in the Jan. 31 provincial
elections held in areas outside the semiautonomous
Kurdistan region in the north. The hopefuls had
mixed results.
Youssef al-Haboubi, who ran as a single candidate
rather than on a party ticket with multiple
candidates in Karbala, won the most votes but failed
to gain the governorship.
Instead, other parties formed an alliance and chose
a member of the group loyal to Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki. Al-Haboubi said he would work to improve
services from his post as second deputy to the
governor.
Salah al-Rekhayis, one of an estimated 2 million
Iraqis with African roots, also ran in the southern
province of Basra, calling himself the "Iraqi Obama."
He was so impressed with President Barack Obama's
campaign and victory that he created a small party
called the Movement of Free Iraqis and ran under its
banner. He lost but his group has already created a
list of potential black candidates to run in the
next Iraqi elections.
The vote for a new 111-seat Kurdish National
Assembly comes amid increased infighting among the
ethnic minority as the political landscape shifts in
Iraq ahead of the expected withdrawal of U.S. forces
by the end of 2011.
Kurds did not go to the polls to choose provincial
councils on Jan. 31 because of the need for a
separate election law for their semiautonomous
region. For that, they need a new parliament.
The Kurds separated from the rest of Iraq after
rising up against Saddam Hussein in 1991, aided by a
U.S.-British no-fly zone that helped keep the
dictator at bay.
PUK is one of the two main parties dominating the
regional government, along with the Democratic Party
of Kurdistan (KDP). The two parties are also thought
to pull all the strings in the region's daily
affairs, including businesses and commerce.
Mustafa broke away three years ago. Other senior PUK
officials followed suit more recently, citing anger
over corruption, a lack of financial transparency
and private militias maintained by some members.
Senior PUK member Saadi Ahmed Pera expressed
confidence that Kurds would vote for the established
parties.
"The people of Kurdistan are very smart and will
never risk their future by voting for new lists. The
people trust the Kurdish leaders and parties who
have carried out many reforms over the past years,"
he said, calling on the groups to join forces
against corruption.
But whether Mustafa — a 65-year-old who had stood by
Talabani for 40 years — can draw enough votes to
become a power-broker in the assembly remains to be
seen.
"The two parties are controlling the police and
media and we fear that this my affect the
elections," Mustafa said. "But we think that the
will of the people will prevail in the end."
Some Iraqi Kurds believe that Mustafa — who is
popular both for his frankness and personal wealth —
will add weight to the independents' bloc.
"There will be strong competition," said Reben Herdi,
43. "The region will witness a real election that
will enable the voters to make a choice."
Others, such as 36-year-old attorney Othman Ahmed,
believe the Kurds' "main problem is the absence of
real opposition: both parties are partners in
sharing the wealth and dividing the homeland."
"I will not vote for those who are part of the
government," Ahmed said. "I will vote for new
faces."
The Kurds have long been at odds with Iraq's central
government over what the authorities in Baghdad see
as their persistent attempts to project influence
beyond the borders of their region and expand the
boundaries of their authority.
The disputes have threatened to revive bitterness
between Iraq's Arab majority and the long-oppressed
Kurdish minority and could also stoke tension and
hinder national reconciliation.
About Nawshirwan Mustafa
Biography
Mustafa was born in 1944 on Ber Khaneke road in the
city of Sulaimaniyah in the Kurdistan region of
Iraq. Following his graduation from high school,
Mustafa attended Baghdad University were he attained
a degree in political sciences.
Following graduation he returned to Sulaimaniyah and
was editor of the Kurdish weekly newspaper "Rizgary"
(Kurdish for Salvation) a weekly journal set up in
the brief lull in hostilities between the central
Iraqi government and its Kurdish population. During
this period he and several other Kurdish
intellectuals formed a secret nationalist party
named Komala. He was exiled soon after for
involvement in Kurdish politics. Whilst in exile he
pursued academic studies in Austria.
In 1975 whilst only 2 weeks from completing his
doctoral thesis at the University of Vienna, Mustafa
was informed that a new uprising was about to begin
in Iraqi Kurdistan and he left immediately.
Following his return, Mustafa quickly became a
leading light of the Komalai Ranjdaran grouping (a
forerunner of the modern day PUK) and became general
secretary of this organisation, before taking part
in the negotiations which led to the merging of the
Komala with the Shoresh Garan grouping of current
Iraqi president Jalal Talabani which led to the
formation of the PUK.
Military career
A military commander as well as a political figure,
Mustafa headed the Kurdish revolution from 1976, and
was the most senior member of the PUK in Iraqi
Kurdistan in the 1991 uprising which followed Iraq's
defeat in the first Gulf war. As such, he took
charge of the war of liberation fought by the
Kurdish people which involved the liberation of the
Kurdish population centres of northern Iraq
including (Kirkuk (being recognised as the architect
of the Raparin). Following the 1991 uprising Mustafa
was allowed to return to his initial career and
began to organise Kurdish academia and wrote several
books, while maintaining his political profile.
Books
*"The fingers which break
each other."
Published in:
Discusses the often treacherous nature of
contemporary Kurdish politics.
*"Going around in circles."
Published in: 1998
An account of the diplomacy of the Kurdish
liberation movement in the 1980's. A period in which
Saddam Hussein launched the genocidal Anfal campaign
against the Kurds.
*"The emirate of baban
between the grinding stones of the Persians and
Turks"
Published:
A historical account of the early Kurdish
principality of Baban (1500-1850), A frontier
principality between the Ottoman and Safavid
empires, which was a microcosm of the power
struggles of the great middle eastern empires.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
AP | Agencies
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
®
